Just curious as to how other women define themselves socially. Do you describe yourself by your job, your interests or the fact that you’re a mother? To be honest, I’m not the “mumsy” type and I tell people about what I like to do for fun, not so much about my family. I find it weird that when there’s a news story about something that’s happened to a woman they always describe her by her maternity status eg “mum of three hit by car” rather than “woman hit by car”, or “lawyer hit by car”. So, how do you define yourself?
6 Replies
I totally agree with you. It also irks me when they intro business women and female actors that way. They rarely intro men that way.
When I was working I definitely defined myself more by my career.
I strongly dislike how I define myself currently which is as a ‘carer’. I don’t hate being a Carer, but it’s not who I want to be. I’m hoping I’ll have opportunity to change that in the near future.
They often report 'father of 3 dies in car crash' etc. I don't really define myself by any one thing though. I'm a professional mum with various interests. What I speak about with new people depends on the context and what I have in common with them. On a side note, I would find it weird to use someone's job in a news article headline unless it was relevant. I. E. Lawyer shot.... There job is irrelevant if it's a home invasion. But if they were shot as a result of their job by a disgruntled client it would make sense.
I always find this an interesting question, what defines me? I honestly really don't know - I'm just me lol!
If I meet someone new I just introduce myself by my name, I mean, a job - my career, that's something I do. Children are something I have and love, but neither of those things define who I am as a person.
If I had to be defined, I would prefer to be defined by the qualities I possess rather than things I've achieved.
Oh and from a journo perspective, they usually do the whole "Mum of 3" thing to pull on the heart strings, the whole purpose is to sell the story after all!
I try not to, but most often it comes up along with work, hobbies,life, my kids. But yes I agree I think I grew much more satisfied when i got out of the 'sahm'mummy phase and back to being just me.
I always define myself as a mum. I don’t think it’s a bad thing and I love being defined as a mum. I know I’m good at being everything else but being a mum is my most prized one so I’d plaster it everywhere...